BOZEMAN — Montana State football coach Brent Vigen announced the restructuring of his offensive football staff on Friday, adding two experienced assistant coaches with one internal move.
Pete Sterbick joins the Bobcats as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach after six seasons at Colorado School of Mines, the most recent two as head coach. Fifth-year MSU assistant coach Sam Mix’s assignment changes from running backs to receivers, and Justin Mesa takes over Montana State running backs after four years at Washington State.
“I’m excited to add Pete and Justin to our coaching staff,” Vigen said. “They’re experienced coaches who check all the boxes to help move our football program forward. Moving Sam to receivers coach is a natural move for him and we look for him to have an expanded role within our program. Additionally, we will have our final open position (offensive line) filled shortly.”
The moves come after the departures of assistant coaches Tyler Walker (offensive coordinator/quarterbacks) and Al Johnson (offensive line) to Temple, and Justin Udy (wide receivers) to Boise State. Vigen enters his fifth year as Montana State’s head coach in 2025 with a 47-10 record, two Big Sky titles, and playoff appearances in all four seasons.
A closer look at the coaches involved:
Pete Sterbick, Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
A highly decorated offensive coach, Pete Sterbick joins the Montana State staff as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. The appointment brings the 2022 Football Scoop NCAA Division II Offensive Coordinator of the Year and 2023 AFCA Regional Head Coach of the Year to the MSU staff after leading the Orediggers to a 22-4 record as head coach during the past two seasons. CSM finished the 2023 season as D-II runner-up and Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference championship season with a 14-1 record. Colorado Mines compiled a 37-6 record with a conference title in all three seasons (2019-22, although the team did not play during the 2020-21 Covid year) of Sterbick’s tenure as offensive coordinator. A receiver and punter at Augustana (South Dakota) from 1998-2002, earning his degree in physical education in 2003, he began his coaching career as receivers coach at Missouri Western in 2003, then coached tight ends at North Dakota in 2004. Sterbick became an offensive graduate assistant at Washington State in 2005-07, then took over as offensive coordinator and receivers coach at D-II Grand View (Des Moines, Iowa) from 2008-11. In two seasons as head coach at NAIA McPherson (Kansas) his teams compiled a 9-11 record, and he worked as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Montana Tech from 2014-18. He moved to Colorado Mines in 2019.
Vigen on Sterbick: “Pete brings a wealth of experience to our staff, specifically as a play caller and quarterbacks coach. He has led many explosive offenses and has demonstrated the ability to adapt to his personnel very well. His ties to the state of Montana from his time spent coaching at Montana Tech are very beneficial as well. I'm very excited to continue moving our offense forward under his direction.”
Justin Mesa, Running Backs
Justin Mesa comes to Montana State after four seasons at Washington State, where he was Director of Transfer Recruiting in 2021, Offensive Quality Control in 2022-23, and Assistant Special Teams/Assistant Tight Ends Coach in 2024. Mesa’s coaching career began during his time as a USC undergraduate, when the Los Angeles native served as a student manager (2004-05) and following his graduation (bachelor’s degree in kinesiology, 2006) as a recruiting and operations assistant (2006-08). He transitioned to on-field coaching as a graduate assistant at USC (wide receivers in 2009, offensive administrative assistant in 2010, and tight ends in 2011-12). Mesa worked as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Loyola High School in Los Angeles (2013-15), then coached wide receivers at Dixie State in 2016. He joined Craig Bohl’s Wyoming staff as Director of Player Personnel in 2017-18, where he worked with Vigen, then became head coach at San Marino (California) High School in 2019-20. He joined the Washington State staff in the summer of 2021. During his time at USC the Trojans played in three Rose Bowls, an Emerald Bowl, and a Sun Bowl. While at Washington State, the Cougars played in the Sun Bowl, the LA Bowl, and the Holiday Bowl.
Vigen on Mesa: “Justin and I worked together for two years at Wyoming and he was a key member of our staff. He has continued to gain experience in all aspects of the game and I'm very excited for what he will bring to our staff as an offensive coach, a special teams contributor and as a recruiter.”
Sam Mix, Wide Receivers
Entering his fifth season on the Bobcat staff, Sam Mix helped craft one of dominant rushing offenses in the FCS during his time as running backs coach (2023-24). Jared White earned Freshman All-America honors during Mix’s first season mentoring Bobcat backs, while in 2024 Scottre Humphrey earned All-America honors and Adam Jones became a Freshman All-American. A 2019 graduate of MSU-Northern (BA, business), the Seattle-area native was a recruiting and operations assistant and offensive analyst at MSU in 2021-22. A former Lights wide receiver (2015-18), Mix worked as receivers coach and special teams coordinator at his alma mater in 2019-20. MSU led the Big Sky in rushing during each of Mix’s seasons as running backs coach.
Vigen on Mix: “Sam has done an excellent job both on the field and in recruiting during his time with us at Montana State. He's led a very productive group of running backs the last two seasons. I look forward to his continued growth within our offense as he returns to the position where he played and began his coaching career.”
